This two-day summit is designed to bring together New Mexico institutions of higher education from across the state to further conversations regarding campus internationalization as well as its impact to the State of New Mexico. Specifically, the intention is to: Deepen collaboration regarding international efforts and activities among NM colleges and universities.

Renew a commitment to reconstituting and renaming the “New Mexico Public Universities Global Consortium” to better reflect the needs of New Mexico’s institutions of higher education and share resources that enhance comprehensive internationalization efforts.

Major Themes

Addressing the importance of internationalizing our campuses and our state.

Define Comprehensive internationalization.

More deeply understand the implications of graduating a globally competent workforce on economic development.

Learn about funding internationalization.

Marketing NM – best practices in recruiting and serving international students.

Overview of education abroad programs (study, scholarship, service and internship–credit and non-credit options).

Working Group Topics

Reviewing and renaming the original 1999 New Mexico Public Universities Global Consortium MOU and determining what aspects of the agreement we want to focus on for the future.

Leveraging existing education abroad opportunities (especially at NMSU and UNM who have the most established programs) and creating pathways across the state to greater participation on these programs.

Establishing a system to train/consult consortium institutions that are interested in establishing their own international offices.

Discussing options to fund these initiatives.

Historical Events Leading Up to the NMGEC 2014 Summit

1999: The New Mexico Public Universities Global Consortium was CreatedIn 1999, The six public universities within the State of New Mexico (Eastern New Mexico University, Western New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico) established an MOU titled the Public Universities Globalization Consortium (NMPUGC) designed to increase collaboration among our institutions in order to facilitate and enhance the globalization of our university systems. Furthermore, the MOU articulates a desire to facilitate joint participation in current and new programs that leverage and enhance financial and human resources. Specific activities proposed to pursue were:

Facilitate participation of students from across the state in existing international exchange and study abroad programs at each campus;

Develop and jointly coordinate new international opportunities for students, faculty and staff;

Encourage the involvement of faculty members and other staff in international programs;

Jointly seek additional resources of funding for international program expansions and increased opportunities for students.

Under the direction of Secretary Jose Garcia, institutions of higher education from across New Mexico were summoned to Santa Fe to discuss the state of internationalization within higher education. Dr. Cornell Menking represented NMSU at this meeting. One of the primary results of this meeting was a collaborative effort across the state to author and submit a FY2015 RPSP request titled the New Mexico Global Education Consortium.

October 2013: New Mexico Global Education Consortium RPSP is Authored and Submitted

A FY2015 RPSP proposal whereby all of New Mexico’s public and tribal 2-year and 4-year institutions came together to support a funding request that would provide scholarship support for a greater number of New Mexicans to participate in study abroad programs. The RPSP also proposed the establishment of an International Study Center in Quito, Ecuador. It is important to note that the name NMGEC was coined during this process. This RPSP was not approved by the 2014 legislature.

June 2014: NAFSA State-wide Meeting

In a recent State of New Mexico NAFSA meeting in June, it was decided that NMSU would host the next state-wide gathering to continue the dialog to increase international activity across our state. The NMGEC 2014 Summit on October 1-2 is testament of our commitment to host and further this dialog.